Tag Archives: holiday triumphs

Holiday Triumphs 2010

Holiday Triumphs: Jean Shepherd, “Uncle Carl’s Gift”

Continuing the fabled tradition begun all the way back in 2009, Scratchbomb presents Holiday Horrors and Holiday Triumphs: an advent calendar of some of the more hideous aspects of this most stressful time of year–with a few bits of awesomeness sprinkled in.

shep2.GIFLast year around this time, I wrote a post about Jean Shepherd, since he and the holiday season will be forever intertwined thanks to the classic he wrote and narrated, A Christmas Story. I’ve written on this site many times about my love for his WOR radio show that ran from 1955 to 1957–and how it was much more dark and philosophical than his most famous film. So rather than prattle on for the 8 billionth time, I’d like to present Shep in his own words on a holiday matter.

First up, his show from December 22, 1965. After opening with The Legend of the Flying A Train, Shep’s chance encounter with The Truth–in the form of a staggering drunk–reminds Shep of his Uncle Carl. A hopeless drunk, Uncle Carl was infrequently employed, often went missing for days on end, and could never remember which apartment in his building was his. But one fateful Christmas, Uncle Carl came through.

Like all of Shep’s best tales, this one is funny and tragic all at once, and above all real, told by a master storyteller. Enjoy.

[audio:http://66.147.244.95/~scratci7/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/shep_1965_uncle_carls_gift1.mp3|titles=Jean Shepherd: Uncle Carl’s Gift (December 22, 1965)]
Holiday Triumphs 2010

Holiday Triumphs: O’ Christmas Pete

Continuing the fabled tradition begun all the way back in 2009, Scratchbomb presents Holiday Horrors and Holiday Triumphs: an advent calendar of some of the more hideous aspects of this most stressful time of year–with a few bits of awesomeness sprinkled in.

artie.jpgI’ve been rediscovering The Adventures of Pete and Pete lately. I don’t know how it started, but I got The Baby into this gem, and her love of it has rekindled my own love of it.

I’m very glad Pete and Pete hasn’t totally disappeared down the memory hole, which would be very easy for show that didn’t run for very long on a cable network. Whenever I mention this show to people in my relative age bracket, they will inevitably break into a smile caused by remembrances of awesome past.

If you’re too young or too old to remember Pete and Pete, here’s the background: It began in the early 90s on Nickelodeon as a series of shorts, then expanded into half-hour specials, and finally became its own series that ran for three seasons. It was basically about the titular brothers (yes, they were both named Pete) and their, well, adventures in the fictional town of Wellsville.

The show was definitely aimed at children, yet had enough weirdness and sly references to appeal to adults (or very hip kids), little touches and running gags that separate a mediocre show from a great one. Like how every piece of electronic equipment was a Krebstar 2000. Or how Little Pete had a 50s-style tattoo of a lady on his forearm named Petunia (who received her own credit in the opening titles), something bizarre that never came close to being explained, or even questioned. Or how both Petes were constantly terrorized by bullies with insane nicknames like Endless Mike, Open Face, and Gravy Breath.

Pete and Pete had tons of out-of-nowhere cameos by celebrities, often from the world of music. Kate Pierson, Michael Stipe, Julianna Hatfield, and Marshall Crenshaw had one-off roles, and Iggy Pop had a regular gig as the father of Little Pete’s friend Nona.

Of course, the best character was Little Pete’s personal superhero, Artie The Strongest Man in the World, who would perform feats of strength, enable Little Pete’s crazy schemes, and perform gymnastic dance moves like The Voodoo Crispy.

Pete and Pete did one Christmas special during their run, and though it did not feature Artie (he had left the show by that point), it was definitely one for the ages. In some ways it is almost as touching as A Charlie Brown Christmas, while being infinitely more strange.
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Holiday Triumphs 2010

Holiday Triumphs: The Greedies

Continuing the fabled tradition begun all the way back in 2009, Scratchbomb presents Holiday Horrors and Holiday Triumphs: an advent calendar of some of the more hideous aspects of this most stressful time of year–with a few bits of awesomeness sprinkled in.

greedies.jpgThe word “supergroup” is almost always a misnomer. The resulting mixture is rarely super and only technically a group. More often than not, supergroup = millionaires with guitars dicking around. Sometimes, if we’re lucky and the personnel is talented enough, even that can be enjoyable. Usually, it’s not.

Our first holiday triumph of the season clearly falls into the Dicking Around category. There’s not an exceptional amount of care or finesse thrown into this effort. And yet, it undeniably rocks, and is made more remarkable for the fact that it probably shouldn’t have happened in the first place.

“This” is The Greedies, an on-again-off-again collaboration between Thin Lizzy frontman Phil Lynott, two of his guitarists and the drummer from that group (Scott Gorham, Gary Moore, and Brian Downey), and two ex-Sex Pistols, Steve Jones and Paul Cook.

With the passage of time, we can see the spiritual similarities between punk and Thin Lizzy’s brand of rock. But in the late 1970s, when The Greedies briefly existed, it would have seemed less obvious. Thin Lizzy represented Arena Rock, while the Sex Pistols stood for the opposite. So these crazy kids getting together is, in retrospect, pretty remarkable.

The Greedies existed in fits and spurts, and as such there is a paucity of information about them on the interwebs. (The most comprehensive rundown comes from Answers.com, so, yeah.) Apparently they played shows here and there when Thin Lizzy’s touring schedule allowed it, but nothing much came of the attempted merger. Their only recorded output was a one-off holiday-themed single released during the Yuletide season in 1979: “A Merry Jingle.”

Is it the best Christmas song ever? Of course not. In fact, it’s little more than a medley of “Jingle Bells” and “We Wish You a Merry Christmas” in a rocking milieu. Normally, I find rock-ified versions of Christmas carols to be insufferable. Even the Bruce Springsteen version of “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” makes me cringe. I blame the spoken word intro; something about The Boss asking Clarence Clemons if he’ll get a new sax for Christmas gives me chills of discomfort.

Not so with this. Maybe it’s the goofy feel of the tune, as if they can barely believe they’re playing this dumb song. Maybe it’s just the idea of most of Thin Lizzy and half of the Sex Pistols playing together.

Whatever. It’s fun. Sometimes that’s enough.